344 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 62. 



will entitle liim to a licence-es-science, and 

 upon tlie presentation of a satisfactory 

 thesis he will be eligible to the French doc- 

 torate. If he has the ability, he can, at his 

 pleasure, discharge all three subjects in one 

 year; or he can do so in successive years, 

 migrating, if he wishes, from one university 

 to another, and studying at the same time 

 whatever other subject he may choose. 



The French system as modified possesses 

 one distinct advantage over that of Ger- 

 many. In the latter country the student 

 must present his thesis before he is admit- 

 ted to examination for the doctor's degree, 

 and if he fails to present a satisfactory 

 dissertation he is without a degree or di- 

 ploma. In France, however, the examina- 

 tion precedes the presentation of the thesis, 

 and the student receives independent credits 

 for ever}' portion of his work. If he acquits 

 himself in one branch only, he has his 

 certificate, three of which, as has been ex- 

 plained, give him the licence-es-science. If 

 interrupted in his work before securing a 

 degree he may withdraw with honorable 

 credentials for at least that portion of his 

 work which has been accomplished. 



The degree rendered by the Couseil has 

 reference only to the faculties of science. It 

 is hoped, however, that a similar arrange- 

 ment may be had in the Department 

 of Letters. Important concessions have 

 already been made in connection with the 

 admission of American students to the 

 faculties of medicine, and Mons. Breal, in a 

 letter to Prof. Furber, writes that the 

 Faculty of Protestant Theologj^ manifests a 

 most liberal disposition in this regard. The 

 changes which the French have made are 

 of very great value. It now rests with the 

 students of America to manifest their ap- 

 preciation and to avail themselves of the 

 facilities which are placed within their 

 reach, in the same warm spirit in which 

 they are oifered. G. Brown Goode, 



Secretary of the American Committee. 



APPLICATION OF THE X-RAYS TO SURGERY. 



The manifold uses to which Rontgen's 

 discovery may be applied in medicine are 

 so obvious that it is even now questionable 

 whether a surgeon would be morally justi- 

 fied in performing a certain class of opera- 

 tion without having first seen pictured by 

 these rays the field of his work, a map, as 

 it were, of the unknown country he is to 

 explore. It may be well to consider first 

 what has already been accomplished in this 

 direction, and then briefly to enumerate a 

 few achievements we may expect when the 

 time of exposure is lessened, the intensity 

 of this form of radiation increased and, 

 possibly, the rays brought to a focus. 



Mosetig, of Vienna, was the first to make 

 a practical application of the new discovery 

 in surgery. The case was one of double 

 phalanges at the tip of the big toe. It was 

 impossible, by the usual means of diagnosis, 

 to decide which of these bones communi- 

 cated directly vfith the middle phalanx, 

 thus forming the joint, and which was the 

 supernumerary bone. It was, therefore, 

 deemed advisable to amputate at the distal 

 articulation, but a picture secured by the 

 Rontgen process revealed very clearly that 

 one of the phalanges formed a portion of the 

 true joint, the other being merely connected 

 therewith by means of an osseous union. 

 It was then a very simple matter to remove 

 the extra phalanx, the surgeon having be- 

 fore him a complete picture of the osseous 

 parts involved. The satisfaction of the 

 patient may also be imagined, for he could 

 see for himself the advisability and sim- 

 plicity of the operation. The next case 

 of Mosetig was one in which a bullet had 

 lodged in the fifth carpal bone and there 

 become encj'sted. Various means had been 

 previously tried, but unsuccessfully, to locate 

 the bullet. In the picture in this case may 

 also be noticed a sessimoid bone; and here 

 attention should be called to the fact that 

 these extra bones should not be mistaken 



